German officials announced on Monday that three Germans had been detained on suspicion of collaborating with the Chinese secret service to transfer technology that might be utilized for military applications and potentially bolster China’s navy.
The arrests took place one week after Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Beijing to discuss fair market access, intellectual property theft, and press Beijing to bolster Russia’s wartime economy.
The government is keeping an eye on Chinese espionage in commerce, industry, and science, according to Interior Minister Nancy Faeser. “We look very closely at these risks and threats and have clearly warned and raised awareness about them so that protective measures are increased everywhere. The topic of German novel technologies with military applications was particularly sensitive in this instance”, she said in a press release.
“At the time of their arrest, the accused were in further negotiations about research projects that could be particularly useful for expanding China’s maritime combat power,” stated a statement from Justice Minister Marco Buschmann. Requests for response were not immediately answered by the Chinese embassy in Berlin or the Chinese foreign ministry.
The suspects were named by prosecutors as Herwig F and Ina F, a married couple operating a business in Dusseldorf, and Thomas R, who they claimed was an agent for an unnamed Ministry of State Security (MSS) official in China.
Through their business, the pair signed a partnership arrangement with a German university, whereby the latter was responsible for creating a study on machine parts suitable for use in marine engines such as in warships for the MSS employee, prosecutors said in a statement.
Prosecutors said that the defendants also bought a customized laser from Germany on behalf of the MSS and paid for it, they then shipped the laser to China without permission. They did not say for what purpose the laser was intended.
